The Trump Card
by Sophia Hawkins
Summary: A sequel to "The Wild Card". The Joker's daughter is back in Gotham City and disaster follows her arrival, entangling her with Batman and Robin once again.
1. Chapter 1

The Trump Card

Author's note: This follows up my last story "The Wild Card". Hope you enjoy

"_Get me out of this place, there's nothing wrong with me," she said._

_Batman and Robin went over to her bedside and Robin asked her, "Do you remember us?"_

_She looked up and snapped at them, "What kind of a fruity question is that? Sure I know who you are," she pointed at Batman, "You're Batman," then to Robin, "And you're Robin, and that over there is Commissioner Gordon. Now will somebody be so kind as to explain to me what I am doing in a hospital?"_

"_You mean you don't remember the Joker?" Commissioner Gordon asked._

"_The Joker? What's he got to do with this? What's going on? I…" she stopped when she realized what they were talking about, "The Joker…I remember…he…he got me out of that place…and told me I was going to help him."_

"_Those initials on your foot, J.N. do you know what they stand for?" Robin asked._

_The girl leaned down to look at her foot as though only now realizing that she wore the tattoo. She looked back up at Robin and at Batman and answered, "Of course I know what that means…those are my initials. J.N., that stands for my name, Jacqueline Napier."_

"_Rather narcissistic on your part, Joker," Batman said, "Giving the world another Jack Napier."_

"_Get that thing away from me and get out of my cell and leave me alone, bat brains," the Joker replied, "I have no idea what you're talking about and I DON'T HAVE A DAUGHTER!"_

"_My father," she said, "What's going to happen to him?"_

"_Your father needs help…they're going to try and get him the help he needs in Arkham," Batman told her._

"_For how long?" Jacqueline asked._

"_The judges ruled he's going to be incarcerated for the rest of his life."_

"_You can't keep him locked up forever, Batman. Nobody can keep him locked up forever…someday, somehow, he'll be back…he'll always come back."_

One year later—

Gotham City was always known for its never-ending and seldom decreasing crime rate, despite the work of the city's excellent police force and of Batman and Robin. Somehow criminals always kept crawling out of the woodwork and finding their way out of prison, and Arkham. Lately though, things had been starting to quiet down. All of Gotham's most notorious crooks were behind bars and in padded rooms and now the long arm of the law just found its hands tied full of the pettier criminals, of which there was never a shortage.

The last few weeks the city's crime fighters had found their hands full with one particular case; a gang of men not yet identified by any witnesses, who under the cover of darkness wreaked havoc on the jewelers' and made off with hundreds of thousands of dollars in priceless gems. There was no known pattern to their work, all that was known was that any business in the city that involved expensive jewels was a target, and it was just a matter of time before they were hit. So far eight had been hit in three weeks, and through all means of deduction, no pattern was found in how the gang decided which one to break into next.

On one particular night, Batman and Robin decided to check out all remaining shops which hadn't been invaded yet, and when they came to the third on the list, they found the window had already been smashed. But there was no alarm going off and no sign of anybody nearby.

"They must've cut the power," Robin said as he looked in, "But it looks like everything's still there."

"We'll see about that," Batman replied.

In addition to the display window being busted, they found the doors were unlocked, and neither was sure what to make of it. They each went a different way and checked out everything. Robin shone a light on everything that he passed and he found two display cases smashed but all the gold bracelets and necklaces were still in place.

"This doesn't make any sense," he said to himself.

He heard a noise from behind and looked but saw nothing. He took another step forward and his foot met with something, and he tripped and stumbled over it and hit the floor. The noise he made when that happened, he was sure was loud enough to wake the dead, and would send anybody running who was within hearing range.

Robin felt his legs trapped under something and pulled them free, and he shone his light on what it was that tripped him, and he was surprised to see that it wasn't a thing, it was a person. At first the person didn't move but slowly the head turned and Robin saw the face, and he couldn't believe it.

"Jacqueline?"

Jacqueline Napier, a girl who last year it had been revealed was the Joker's daughter, which had been kept a secret from the world, and Gotham, for many years. She closed her eyes for a second, trying to adjust them to the light and she looked up at the person hovering over her.

"Robin!" she said, "Fancy meeting you here."

"What're you doing here?" he asked as he helped her up.

She was a little slow in her response, as was she in brushing off the broken glass on her jacket, "I'm not sure but I'm guessing being arrested is going to be somewhere in the list."

At first Robin thought it was a shadow he was seeing but he realized she had a big bruise on her face, and it was an odd shape, like she'd been punched by somebody wearing a ring with a large stone on it.

"How did…" he started to ask.

"Robin," they heard Batman's voice as he came back, "What's going on?"

Robin stuck his flashlight directly into Jacqueline's face so Batman could see her, "Look who it is."

Jacqueline stuck her hands up and said, jokingly, "Don't shoot, I'll come peacefully."

"What're you doing in here?" Batman asked.

"Well I…"

She didn't get a chance to answer because they heard the roar of oncoming police sirens. She huffed and said, "I guess I'll have to explain at the station."

* * *

Jacqueline wasn't arrested, but she was put in the back of a police car and taken to the police station where an officer asked her questions about what she was doing in the jewelry store. At that time, Commissioner Gordon came in to find out if there had been any break in the case.

"Not yet, Commissioner," Batman said, "However, we did find _something_ tonight."

He looked and saw the girl. "My God," he said, "The Joker's daughter…what's she doing back in Gotham? I thought her aunt got her out of here a year ago."

"She did," Robin answered, "We're trying to figure out why she came back."

"And what she was doing in that jeweler's tonight," Batman added.

They couldn't hear what she was saying but just watching her speak with the officer explained plenty.

"She doesn't seem to be having much luck with that either," Gordon said.

He stepped in and excused the officer and said he would take the statement instead. Jacqueline looked over at the older man and it took her a minute to make the connection.

"Mr. Gordon," she said, "Nice to see you again."

"Jacqueline Napier, it's been a while," he said.

She nodded.

"What happened to your face?" he asked her.

She covered the bruise with her hand and answered, "Somebody clocked me."

"In the jewelry store tonight?" he asked.

"Yes…I heard some people around the corner and went to see what was going on. They had cut off the power so the alarm wouldn't go off, and they picked the lock open and went in. And like a fool, I went in behind them to try and scare them out of there…it worked, but not as well as I'd anticipated," she said, "One of them knocked me in the face and I fell back against one of the display cases, and it moved and it smashed right into the window, and the window broke into a million pieces and they hightailed it out of there," she explained.

"What time was that?" Gordon asked.

"I don't know…I guess about half an hour ago, and then Batman and Robin came in, and…that's all I know," she said.

"Miss Napier, what _are_ you doing back in Gotham City?" Batman asked her.

"Why, is there something the matter with it?" she asked.

"She inherited his rotten sense of humor," Robin murmured to Batman.

"Where's your aunt you were staying with?" Batman asked her.

"Aunt Harriet?" Jacqueline asked, "She's over in New Jersey. I told her I wanted to come back and see the old city, and she didn't want to come…and I told her I'm old enough I can come alone, she wasn't happy with it, but she agreed. I sure made a heck of a first impression back in the old place, didn't I?"

"Did you see the guys who broke into the store?" Batman asked.

"To identify them? No, to say they were there, yes…there were three of them…and they were all wearing long dark coats and big black fedoras, and the one that hit me…I think he must've been wearing a big ring on his finger because when he hit me…"

"We know," Gordon told her, "Miss Napier, where are you staying for the time being?"

"I was going to get a hotel room later," she said.

"Well…I don't know that would be a good idea now, you're a witness to a crime."

"I'm also my father's daughter, I think that in itself has proven I can look after myself," Jacqueline said, "By the way…how _is_ he doing these days?"

"Well, he's…" what was there _to_ be said about the Joker?

"Same as usual," Jacqueline figured out, "Too bad, I was hoping by now there'd be _something_ different to report about him. Getting back to the original point, no offense, Commissioner but I'm not too hot on being shut away in some rat infested motel somewhere with two cops watching me at all times."

"What if you didn't have to go to a hotel?" Batman asked, "What if we could find somewhere else for you to stay?"

"Like where?" Jacqueline asked.

"Well the last time you were here, it was considered placing you in a private residence where no criminal would ever think to look for you," Batman explained.

She smiled, "Throwing darts in a phone book or do you have somebody in mind already?"

"Bruce Wayne comes to mind," Commissioner Gordon started to speak but Batman cut him off, "He was perfectly willing to let her stay at his home last time, I'm sure he wouldn't have any objection to it now."

Commissioner Gordon looked at his watch, "Well, it's too late in the night to call him now, I'll contact him first thing in the morning." He turned to Jacqueline, "In the meantime, Miss Napier, would you have any objections to spending the night here?"

"In a cell?" she asked.

"No."

"Okay," she said, then remembered something, "Oh no, my bag! I brought a suitcase with me and I must've left it by the jewelry store."

Robin ducked out of the room and came back carrying a large suitcase, "Is this it?"

"Yes," she said as she took it from him, "Thanks."

"We found that on the way out," Robin explained.

"Oh good," Jacqueline set it on the desk, opened it up and took out a crime novel, "If I'm going to be spending the night here, I'm going to need _something_ to keep my mind occupied."

"I'll be back in a minute," Commissioner Gordon got up and motioned to Batman to meet him outside.

"Yes Commissioner?"

Gordon looked back in the room to make sure the girl wasn't listening. "This whole thing's got me a bit on edge…the Joker's daughter back in Gotham, and if he finds out about it…"

"The Joker is still locked up at Arkham," Batman reminded him, "He doesn't know when she left, he won't know that she's back. Any mention of her in the paper towards this case would be as a witness. She was never identified last time in the press because she was a minor, and they're not going to find out now either. And besides that, he knows he doesn't have any hold over her now, even if he _did_ know she was here, he probably wouldn't even want to see her."

"I hope so, Batman, but I've got to tell you I've got a bad feeling about this whole thing."

* * *

"Jacqueline Napier?" Bruce said the next day during a phone conversation with the Commissioner, "She's back in Gotham City? …I see…well certainly, Commissioner Gordon if it would keep her out of harm's way, I'd be happy to help. Yes…yes, I'll be down in about half an hour to get her, okay…goodbye."

"Here we go again," Alfred dryly remarked, "Well, a room has been prepared for our young visitor…exactly how long should we anticipate her staying?"

"Jacqueline told Gordon that she plans to stay in Gotham for two weeks. It could be longer than that if an arrest is made and she's called as an eyewitness."

"But she didn't even see the thieves," Dick told him, "She could never identify them."

"Probably not," Bruce agreed, "I'll go pick her up."

Dick followed him out of the kitchen and stopped him before he reached the door.

"There's something I've been thinking about Bruce. Last year when the Joker's goons took me to that place on the waterfront and put me in Jacqueline's room with her, remember?"

"What about it?"

"Well they knew I was Robin when they took me in there…and Jacqueline knew when the Joker got back, he _couldn't_ know who I was, so she took off my outfit and put me in a pair of her nightclothes. She saw what I looked like, she might remember that I was the same one that rode with her in the ambulance when she collapsed at the bank. And if she's able to put together who _I_ am…"

"Then she could easily figure out who we both are," Bruce saw where this was going, "However she's had a whole year to tell somebody about us and apparently she hasn't, so either she hasn't figured it out…"

"Or she knows and she's just keeping quiet about it," Dick added.

"I guess we're going to find out which it is soon enough," Bruce said, "Though maybe it'd be a good idea if you came with me to pick her up."

Dick agreed and he went with Bruce. They arrived at the police station and were met outside by Commissioner Gordon, who tried to catch them up on everything they knew so far.

"I'd like to thank you again for doing this, Bruce," Gordon said as he led them in, "I hate to put you out."

"It's no trouble at all, Commissioner," Bruce responded, "None at all. Where is she?"

"She's in here, follow me."

They went with him down a narrow corridor and came to an interview room and they found Jacqueline in a chair pressing its weight back against the desk.

"Miss Napier," Gordon said.

She put the front legs of the chair back on the ground and got up, "Are these the guys?"

"Yes, this is Bruce Wayne…"

"How do you do?" Bruce said, putting out his hand, which she did not take.

"Well I've been better," she said.

"And this is Dick Grayson," Gordon told her.

Jacqueline looked at him for a minute and said, "I remember you…last year, you were the one that came to see me in the hospital, am I right?"

"Yeah, that's me," Dick answered.

"This might not be so bad after all then," she said as she picked up her suitcase and followed them out the door, "Goodbye, Mr. Gordon, see you later."

There was something about that last sentence that didn't set well with the Commissioner.

* * *

"So what brings you back to Gotham City, Miss Napier?" Bruce asked as he glanced at her in the rear view mirror, "I thought you'd gone somewhere with a relative after the last…ordeal."

"Yeah, my Aunt Harriet and I headed for Jersey, but I've spent so much time in _this_ place, I guess it kind of grew on me like a wart. Thought I'd come back and see if anything had changed…but Gotham's one of those places where times stands still, nothing ever really changes here, does it?"

"Very little," Bruce answered, "It's been about a year now, hasn't it?"

"About," she answered.

"What've you been up to for so long?" Bruce asked.

"Finishing school…I quit when I was 13 on account of that's when I suffered that head injury, and from there it was just a hop skip and a jump to jail and the insane asylum and all that…so I've had a lot to catch up on."

"How's that coming?" Bruce asked.

"I graduated high school last week," she said.

"Congratulations, that's a lot to accomplish in a year."

"Yeah, I enrolled in one of those through-the-mail schools, a lot easier to get everything done, and quicker too," she said, and turned to look at Dick, "How about you, you still in school?"

"College," Dick answered.

"Yeah, my aunt's been suggesting I go there next, but I don't know," she said, "A lot of people do, they figure 'well, it's only four years and it's so great, it'll be of so much use', and then they die before they get out and get to figure out what they want to do."

"What're your plans?" Bruce asked.

"I haven't figured that out yet," she said, "Everybody says I'm good at drawing though, so I'm thinking of taking a year off and then applying to art school." She looked at Dick again and said, "I seem to recall drawing a picture of you once…or could I be wrong?"

Dick remembered that. That was when they were locked up in the Joker's hideout, so she _did_ remember…or did she?

"I…don't know," he answered.

She looked out the window at the mansion they were approaching, "This is where you guys live?"

"Yes," Bruce answered.

"Who'd you kill?" she asked him.

He ignored that comment and pulled them up into the driveway.

"Dick's going to show you your room," he told her, "I'll be in in a minute."

Dick and Jacqueline got out of the car and headed up to the house. Once they got in the front door she couldn't help looking all over the place. "Man, what racket's he running to afford this place?" she asked, "I've never seen any place like this before in my life. Hey listen, Dick, I'm starving, can we stop in the kitchen first?"

"Sure."

"Good," she said as they headed through the house, "I didn't get a chance to eat last night and I…" she saw something in the kitchen that alarmed her and she pushed Dick back and ducked down, taking him down with her.

"What is it?" he asked.

"There's somebody in your kitchen," she said, "I'll get him."

Before Dick could say anything, Jacqueline charged in and jumped on the man. Dick couldn't help finding the situation a bit hilarious even though it was so serious. The two people in the kitchen struggled and fought with each other, each trying to get out from under the other. Bruce came in at that time and saw what was going on and quickly broke it up, pulling Jacqueline up, who tried to explain what had happened.

"That is _not_ a prowler, Miss Napier," Bruce explained, "That is our butler, Alfred Pennyworth."

Jacqueline looked back at the man she had jumped. She saw the tall, thin, older man in the black and white suit who was now slightly hunched over and with a sour look on his face.

"Ohhhhh boy," she said.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note: While having no explanation as to what took so long in getting this second chapter done, I do apologize to my readers for the long wait. Hope you enjoy.

"Well, it was nice meeting you all," Jacqueline said as she picked up her suitcase and turned around, "So long."

Dick blocked the doorway so she couldn't leave the kitchen. "Wait, don't go yet, Miss Napier."

"It was just a simple misunderstanding," Bruce said as he turned to Alfred, "That's all."

The look on Alfred's face said plenty to the contrary but he didn't say a word.

"An honest mistake," Bruce added, "It could've happened to anybody."

Alfred restrained himself from saying what he thought and said, "I'll show you to your room, Miss Napier."

"It's alright, Alfred," Dick said, "I got this."

The two left the kitchen, leaving Bruce and Alfred to talk amongst themselves.

"Well, she certainly is something, isn't she?" Alfred commented as he dusted off his jacket, "She's only been here five minutes and already she's trying to kill people."

* * *

"I'm sorry, it's just that it never occurred to me for as large as this place is, that you guys actually _had_ a butler," Jacqueline said as she and Dick headed upstairs, "My family's always been very big on 'self service'. We wouldn't know what to do with hired help if we ever got it."

"It was just a mistake, that's all," Dick tried to sweep the whole thing under the rug.

"I should've realized something was up, since when do burglars dress like penguins?" Jacqueline said as they reached the top of the stairs, "Then again this _is_ New York so…" She looked around at the dreary looking hall and asked Dick, "Uh…where am I staying?"

"Over here," he took her down the hall to a guest room that had already been prepared for her.

The room was very basic, it had a bed, a dresser, a table and chair, and little else. Looking around at it, Jacqueline commented, "Reminds me of the mental hospital I was in. Oh…" she turned around and looked at him, "I didn't mean that like it sounded. I just can't seem to do anything right lately…I couldn't even catch those guys that busted into the jewelry store last night…did Commissioner Gordon tell you about that?"

"Yes, he did," Dick answered.

"Oh good, with the way the police work, you never know _what_ you're supposed to say," Jacqueline replied, "And I'm sure glad to get out of that police station…I've already spent a good part of my life locked up in one way or another, the last thing I need is a reminder of it."

* * *

"You're going to _what_, sir?" Alfred asked when Bruce told him his plan.

"We pretty much walked into this whole thing blindfolded," Bruce told him, "If she's going to be staying here we have to find out what we're dealing with, and right now nobody's going to know that better than the only other family she has, an aunt over in New Jersey. Tomorrow I'll head out there and see if I can find out just what's been going on with Jacqueline since she left Gotham City."

"If you don't mind my saying, sir," Alfred replied, "I think it would be best if we sent her back that way."

"Oh come on, Alfred, you're not still sore about earlier, are you?" Bruce asked.

"It's not that, sir," Alfred lowered his voice so nobody else would be able to hear them, "…we both know who she's related to, and we both know it's only a matter of time until the Joker breaks out of Arkham again…and what's going to happen if he finds out that _she's_ back in town?"

"How can he?" Bruce asked, "She's being kept in a private residence currently as an anonymous potential witness for a crime that might never go to court."

"Yes, but she'll have to go out of the house sometime, won't she?" Alfred asked Bruce, "She can't stay in here all day for two weeks, can she?"

* * *

Could she? That was the question Bruce was asking himself several hours later when he found out Jacqueline had stayed in her room all morning. He went in and found her seated on the foot of the bed just staring at the door.

"Is something wrong, Miss Napier?" he asked.

"No," she replied, "I was just wondering…what exactly am I supposed to do here?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…Commissioner Gordon sent me here because I'm a witness and he needs me available and out of trouble…that being said, do I have to stay in this room for two whole weeks?"

"No…Commissioner Gordon explained you could come and go as you would've during your stay in Gotham anyway, but he'd rather you stay here at the end of the day instead of a hotel somewhere."

"Oh, that's good," Jacqueline replied, "I know it's not an important case but you never know…I'd hate to think I'd have to be locked up in here the whole time. Gotham City might not have much charm to it, but I did spend most of my life here, and I'd like to see the place through coherent eyes this time."

Bruce made sure he was very cautious in what he said, he didn't want there to be any possibility that Jacqueline could make the connection between he and Batman. "Yes, Commissioner Gordon mentioned that you'd suffered from a head injury several years ago and only recently recovered from it."

She nodded, "I don't remember much of it though…I remember bits and pieces of what was happening during that time." She laughed, "That's pretty pathetic, isn't it? To not be able to remember almost four whole years of your life…if my father hadn't busted me out of that loony bin I'd probably still be there, recovery or no recovery."

Bruce decided to test the waters and press her on a subject he'd been trying to avoid. "Is it true that Jack Napier is your father?"

"The Joker," she said, "That's what they tell me," she laughed once, humorlessly and amended herself, "That's what _he_ told me…I guess I must be, why would he do something like that if I wasn't?"

"But you don't know?" Bruce asked.

"I never knew my father, period," she said, "He was long gone by the time I came around…so this guy breaks me out of the asylum and tells me he's my father…what am I going to do? I have to believe him…and I think he's right…I think I _know_ he's right…like I said, why would he lie about that?"

She had a point. Even though Bruce knew what they had known for a year, the records had confirmed it, Jack Napier _was_ married to Jacqueline's mother before he became the Joker, he _was_ her father…but even if he hadn't seen the evidence with his own eyes, he knew she was right. He knew what Jack Napier had looked like before that white skin and red lips and dark hair became his permanent identification, and there was little resemblance between the two, but that didn't change the fact that this was the Joker's daughter.

"Do you remember much from that time?" Bruce asked.

"I remember everything from that time," Jacqueline answered, "It's taken a while but I've managed to put all the pieces together from when he first found me to…after he got sent back to Arkham."

There was a note of mourning in her voice then, but overall Jacqueline still seemed very calm and collective, and Bruce decided not to press any further, at this time.

"Mr. Wayne," Jacqueline said, changing the subject, "I'm sorry about what happened downstairs earlier…I just thought…"

"It's quite alright, Miss Napier, it was just a simple mistake."

"Well…I'm sure after that, your butler would be only too happy to see me leave," Jacqueline said.

"Not at all…Alfred understands it wasn't intentional," Bruce said.

Jacqueline looked confused, "You mean he doesn't want to take a shot at me for it?"

"No," Bruce answered.

"Why? What's wrong with him?" Jacqueline asked.

Hmmmmm, Bruce thought, now might not be a good time to tell her he was leaving in the morning.

"Miss Napier," he said, "I can assure you that there are no hard feelings for what happened earlier. Now, if you'd like to go out later, Commissioner Gordon suggested you don't go alone and I'm sure Dick would be only too happy to go with you."

The corners of Jacqueline's mouth turned up as she left out a humph of a laugh, "He doesn't strike me as the type that would be too happy about much of anything. He's a very serious guy, isn't he?"

"You have no idea."

"Well, I suppose if I'm going to be staying here," she said, "I better unpack."

Jacqueline threw her suitcase on the bed, opened it up and started taking out an assortment of things: a couple changes of clothes, a few books and a pad of drawing paper and a set of freshly sharpened pencils.

"Make yourself at home," Bruce told her, "For the time being, our house is your house."

* * *

Despite Bruce's overwhelming confidence that taking in the Joker's daughter would be no problem, Commissioner Gordon couldn't help but call once every few hours to make sure there weren't any problems.

"I can assure you, Commissioner," Bruce said into the telephone receiver, "Things are going just fine here."

"Well remember what I said, Bruce, any problems, any at all, and we'll find another place to put her. I don't want you to feel obligated to keep her at your home if she's any trouble."

"There's no problem at all, Commissioner," Bruce insisted, "We're all thrilled to have her here."

Alfred lightly cleared his throat as he passed by.

"Is she there now, Bruce?" Gordon asked.

"No," Bruce answered, "She and Dick went out for the afternoon."

They exchanged a few more words before Bruce hanged up the phone.

"Are you seriously considering going to see her aunt tomorrow, sir?" Alfred asked.

"I am…I think if she's going to be staying with us, we need to find out what we're dealing with, and she doesn't appear to be too forthcoming about everything," Bruce told him, "I should only be gone until tomorrow evening, maybe not even that long. I'm sure you and Dick can handle her until then," he said with a slight but knowing smirk.

"I sincerely hope so, sir," Alfred replied.

"I shouldn't worry, Alfred," Bruce said, "How much trouble can an 18 year old girl get into?"

"In this city, sir?" Alfred asked him.

* * *

That night at Wayne Manor, Bruce, Dick and Jacqueline were seated at the large dining room table having a quiet dinner. Hardly a word was spoken as they ate and it was only halfway through the meal that Bruce finally said to Jacqueline, "So Miss Napier…being in Gotham City again, what do you think of the place?"

"Well it's pretty much like I remember it being," she said, "Except now I can actually walk around in public and look at everything, so that part is largely different. I'm not sure about Dick but…I know I had a good time today." A moment passed before she added, "By the way, Mr. Wayne, after dinner could I use your phone? I'd like to call my Aunt Harriet over in New Jersey and let her know I'm alright. She gets worried if she doesn't hear from me every day."

"Certainly," he answered.

"Thank you…I'd hate for her to think that something had happened, last time I called her was last night when I told her I'd been picked up by the police and was staying the night in jail."

That drew a sudden outburst of laughter from Dick, who vainly tried to restrain himself.

"I'm sorry," he said, still laughing.

"I don't mind, I'm able to laugh at it all, Aunt Harriet, not so much, she's a very serious woman," Jacqueline explained, "Too serious, I think…I'm really not much like her at all."

Bruce made no comment in response to that, because he knew it wouldn't be wise to open any doors that might lead to any mentioning of her taking after her father.

After dinner, Jacqueline called her Aunt Harriet and stayed on the phone with her for about half an hour; from the parts Dick and Bruce could overhear, it didn't sound as if they were talking about much in particular. From their end it seemed obvious that Jacqueline would've preferred to end the call earlier, but her aunt refused to get off the line.

Alfred entered the room in passing and Jacqueline caught sight of him a moment before he passed by her, when he did she reached out and pinched him on the arm, causing him to scream.

"Oh, I've gotta go, Aunt Harriet, their butler just hurt himself, bye," Jacqueline put the receiver back on the switch hook before the woman on the other end of the line could respond. When she looked up at Alfred, she saw that he was starring daggers at her.

"Sorry, but that's the only way I can get her off the phone," she offered as an explanation, "She's the kind of person that can just talk forever. Unfortunately, my ears can only put up with so much of it."

"Well Miss Napier," Bruce said, changing the subject, "Have you any plans for tonight?"

"Not in particular," she replied, "If you don't mind I think I'd rather stay up in my room tonight and try to get used to the place."

"That would be fine."

Extremely so, Bruce thought, at least if she stayed in the house, they wouldn't have to worry about anything else happening to her.

* * *

BOOM!

Bruce shot up in bed and within a few seconds, realized the noise that had jerked him out of his sleep was a thunderstorm. He tried to remember, had there been a storm when he'd gone to bed? No there hadn't, so this must've just come out of nowhere. The whole room became white with lightning and then another deafening roar of thunder that just about shook the room.

He looked at the clock on the nightstand and saw that it was 2:30 in the morning. Thinking back now, Bruce couldn't remember when the last time was that he'd managed to sleep through the whole night, it always seemed if it wasn't one thing waking him up, it was another…

And then another thought came to him. Maybe he was just being overcautious about having Jacqueline staying at their house, but it occurred to him that maybe he ought to check in on her and see if she was asleep. He hadn't thought to ask if she was particularly bothered by thunderstorms, as he knew some people were, but then again he couldn't think of a simple way of asking such a question either.

Getting out of bed, Bruce put on his robe and headed to the door. It was quiet in the house. He'd lived in it long enough to recognize the sounds of when somebody (besides himself) was up in the middle of the night, and for all his experience, he could tell that there wasn't anybody else up and walking around. He headed down the hall to the guest room they'd put Jacqueline in and found the door closed. He slowly turned the knob and pushed the door open. The room was pitch dark when he first looked in, but then lightning struck again and illuminated the entire room, which to Bruce's horror revealed that her bed had been slept in earlier that night, but she wasn't anywhere to be found.


	3. Chapter 3

In the dark, Bruce made his way down the stairs to check the first floor of the mansion before he reached any conclusions, though he was worried they might be going through a repeat performance. Of course he knew that was ridiculous, the Joker was locked up in Arkham, and even if he wasn't, he couldn't possibly have known where Jacqueline was staying, could he?

Lightning struck and lit up the entire house, giving Bruce a perfect opportunity to look around for the girl. He didn't see her in the front hall, and she was nowhere to be found in the dining room. Then he made his way into the living room, and the house was pitch black again. He waited, a few seconds later, lightning illuminated the room again, and it was much to Bruce's relief that he saw Jacqueline asleep on the couch. But why she'd come down here to sleep was beyond him, and he didn't want to wake her up to find out; he was just thankful that she was still in the house and that she was alright.

Thunder crashed in the sky above, ringing through the house. Bruce went over to the couch and got a better look at his houseguest. Jacqueline had found some sheets and blankets from the bedding closet and covered herself with them; but in her sleep they'd been pushed halfway down. He pulled the covers back up over her body and quietly exited the living room. As he made his way back up the stairs, he realized he was starting to have his own doubts about this whole thing. Having Jack Napier's daughter in their home was bad enough, but going to see the girl's aunt the next day to speak to her about Jacqueline, Bruce was starting to wonder just _how_ that whole ordeal was going to go over.

He thought back to last year when they'd found Jacqueline, and after she had recovered at the hospital and was able to remember what had happened. Bruce also remembered those few days that Dick had been kidnapped by the Joker and his gang and was locked in the same room with Jacqueline. In the time since, Dick had talked about what happened there, and there hadn't been much to tell, but it did leave Bruce wondering. For about three days, Jacqueline was in an enclosed space with Dick and got a very good look at him, she saw him well enough to sketch his picture, she had also removed his Robin outfit to preserve his identity from the Joker. Yes, the odds seemed good that she _could_ put the pieces together and figure out that Dick was Robin, but if she had, was that really something she could keep to herself? He didn't know, he just hoped speaking with Jacqueline's Aunt Harriet would help clear up some of these questions.

* * *

Jacqueline woke up when she heard a loud crash of thunder, but as she looked around and realized where she was and started to settle down, she heard the noise of somebody moving around in a room close by. She sat up on the couch and held her breath and looked around, and heard the sounds coming from the kitchen. Quietly, she threw back the covers, got to her feet, pulled out a gun she'd kept under the cushion, and crept into the kitchen. No lights were on but she was able to make out the outline of a person with his back to her. On her toes, Jacqueline crept up to the person, pressed the gun into his back and said quietly, "Stick 'em up!"

The man let out an excited yelp and raised his hands, then turned around and revealed it was Dick. Jacqueline's eyes bugged out and she lowered her gun and said, "Oh my goodness, I'm sorry, I thought you were a burglar."

"I can see that," Dick replied, as lightning briefly lit up the room he glanced down at her gun and asked, "That thing loaded?"

Jacqueline froze for a second and then composed herself and shook her head, "No, Aunt Harriet gave it to me to bring for protection, it was her father's…40 years it's been handed down from generation to generation and ain't anybody put a bullet in the chamber yet."

"Well that's always good to know," Dick said, "Is this something you usually do at home?"

Jacqueline looked at him and explained, "At home it's just Aunt Harriet and myself, if I hear somebody moving around in the middle of the night, I have a pretty good idea who it is…but to tell the truth I don't sleep too well, I always keep an ear open for anything out of the ordinary."

"That something that comes with the territory of living in New Jersey?" he inquired.

Jacqueline laughed and said, "Well it doesn't hurt…no, it comes with the territory of…" she stopped, looked down at the floor and added, "No, maybe you don't want to know."

Dick had an idea what she was getting at, and now trying to get off the subject of. But he also knew he couldn't bring it up without jeopardizing his and Bruce's secret identities. So, he decided to slowly work his way into this particular red zone.

"I remember last year the, the word going around the city was that the police had found out you were the daughter of the Joker, is that true?"

Jacqueline nodded glumly, "That's what they tell me anyway…that's what _he_ told me, rather…so you can _really_ see I guess why Commissioner Gordon and the police wanted to get me tucked away at a private residence. Everybody knows that the Joker won't stay in Arkham Asylum for long, if he were to get out now and find out I was back in town…well, it wouldn't be pretty."

Dick tried to think of some way to ask the next question, and couldn't think of any way except to just come out and ask her, "What exactly…did he do to you?"

"Uh, well let me see," Jacqueline folded her arms against her chest and said, "When he wasn't having me go along with his gang of kooky thugs…he kept me shut up in a room all day, and only took me out when he said we were going to 'make a public appearance', that meant we'd go out, ambush a bunch of people and take their wallets and jewelry."

"That's it?" Dick asked.

She nodded, "He was usually gone most of the time so his goons just kept me in the room, nobody to talk to or anything like that…somebody gave me some pencils and a pad of drawing paper so I'd have _something_ to keep myself occupied until I was needed again."

"Must've been awful," he said.

"At that time…I was kind of going in and out of it so it didn't really bother me too much," Jacqueline recalled, "The worst part was when I got sick."

"What happened?"

"He…they brought in a doctor to look at me…I guess I must've been delirious because at one point I thought she said something about scarlet fever, but nobody gets that anymore do they?" she asked but didn't wait for an answer, "Anyway…she gave him some pills and said that my fever had to be brought down and that I couldn't be moved until it was. And then…"

She moved away from him and seemed to be inching her way back out of the kitchen, Dick followed but kept a small distance between them, "And then?"

"It was a few days later, I was still recovering and kept in bed…and when the Joker was gone one night, his men brought in somebody…they'd caught this boy and locked him in the room with me." She laughed nervously and said, "You'll think I'm crazy, but I would swear that it was Robin…" she stopped laughing and added, "But, that could've just been the fever talking…how could the Joker's goons possibly catch Robin? That'd be like if they caught Batman, and that's never going to happen."

Dick wasn't sure how to respond to that one so he opted for no response at all. Thankfully, Jacqueline didn't notice.

"It's still so hard to believe though," she told him as she moved back to the couch and sat down, "That _that_ man could possibly be my father…and yet, it must be true, mustn't it? Why would he make that up?"

And there was no easy way to answer that either without giving himself away. "Who can tell why the Joker does anything he does?" Dick asked.

"True," she said, "Still…it must be true, Jack Napier, Jacqueline Napier, that's just too much of a coincidence, isn't it?" She lifted up her right foot and told Dick, "You see? They even marked me when I was little…so that I would always know my name."

"Who did?" Dick asked.

"I…I'm not sure," Jacqueline told him, "I don't remember _when_ I was tattooed…I guess my mother took me, I don't know anymore, just seems that as long as I can remember, I've always had my initials tattooed on the bottom of my foot. Go figure, eh? What a life…"

"What about now, with your aunt?" Dick asked.

"Oh Aunt Harriet is very nice…she's very nice, she's the only family I have now…which is more than I've had in many years…but you know, I haven't seen her for so long…so even though I've been staying with her for a year now, it's still like…like…like living with a stranger. I _know_ she's family and I _know_ that I saw her when I was little…but I still don't know her…you know?"

"I think I have a pretty good idea," Dick told her as he sat down beside her on the couch, "You may have noticed that Bruce and I have different last names."

"I hadn't noticed, oh…Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson, of course," Jacqueline laughed slightly, "So he's not your father."

"Not exactly," Dick answered, "You see, both of my parents were killed when I was younger."

Jacqueline drew in a sharp breath and sat straight and said, "Oh I'm so sorry…I guess, I guess that you two have quite a bit in common, his parents were murdered too, weren't they? Over in…" she hesitated and said, "In Crime Alley."

Dick noticed her hesitancy and remembered Bruce telling him how she had once disappeared down Crime Alley when he tried to catch her, and came back with a whole paddy wagon full of the Joker's men. He wondered exactly _what_ was going through her mind, they knew that Jacqueline had been the Joker's hostage for several months before they found out about her, and he wondered what all they had done to her during all that time. It was a rather long time to stay locked up in one room all day, only to come out during heists.

He also noticed, for the first time, the sheets piled on the couch under him, and he asked, "Something wrong with your room?"

"Uh, no…" Jacqueline explained, "I just thought it would be better if I was down here so I could…" she giggled, "Keep an eye out incase anyone _did_ try to break in. I've never been in a house where one piece of furniture costs more than my whole miserable life is worth."

"Well we appreciate your concern, Jacqueline, but we have a pretty good security system here," Dick pointed out, "If anybody _did_ try to get in, we'd know about it."

Jacqueline looked embarrassed and said, "Yeah I guess so…I don't know if I'm gonna get used to being in this place."

"It takes a while, believe me," he told her, "Come on, I'll escort you back to your room."

They got up from the couch and made their way back to the front hall and up the stairs.

"You know, Dick, I'm very grateful for what you and Mr. Wayne are doing, I know that we're putting you guys out and I appreciate you guys letting me stay here."

"Oh it's no trouble, we're used to having people stay with us," he said.

"Yeah, but those are all the wealthy Gotham City socialites, not a poor little _nothing_ from New Jersey like me," she replied.

He laughed lightly and said, "Oh we're enjoying having you here."

"I think your butler would disagree," Jacqueline told him.

Dick laughed and responded, "Alfred will come around, you'll see."

"Boy," Jacqueline noted, "I sure never would've thought I'd ever have so many people making a fuss out of me, first Batman and Robin, then the police and Commissioner Gordon, and now all of you guys."

_And her father_, Dick thought to himself.

Jacqueline stopped in her tracks and Dick about fell back and knocked her down, he hadn't realized that he'd been holding her hand on the way up.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Oh, Dick…I just thought of something…doesn't the Joker know all the other big time criminals in Gotham City?"

"If they're locked up at Arkham he might," he said, "Why?"

"That means the Penguin and the Riddler and…oh Dick, what if he's told them about me?" Jacqueline asked, "What if the next time they break out, they find me?"

Now there was something he hadn't thought of. All the same, he put on his most reassuring expression and told Jacqueline, "That's why you're staying here, nobody will be able to find you here."

"I sure hope not anyway," she replied as she walked over towards her room, "Oh, it's not myself I'm so worried about, but if _they_ would come here, bust into this house…come to think of it I guess I _am_ worried about myself because it would be my fault if they did."

"Don't worry about it," he told her, "Nobody's going to get in here."

"Yeah, well, I'll keep my fingers crossed all the same," she said as she stood in the doorway, "Goodnight, Dick."

"Goodnight, Jacqueline," he replied.

Jacqueline closed her door and Dick headed back towards his own room and considered what she'd just said; _he_ hoped not too.


End file.
